Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

JDavis1277 wrote:

Doug,

Disc brakes, right?

Yep, the supposedly stainless ones.

Actually, the stainless parts don't rust. But a lot of the guts can't
be made of stainless due to it's poor mechanical properties.

DSK

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 17:25:00 -0500, DSK wrote:

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

I have surge actuated mechanical brakes on my 20 foot Ranger's
trailer.

I have a similar size boat with surge brakes.

If there a way to clean the rotors and keep them from sticking over
winter? I have a hell of a time breaking them loose this morning when
I moved the trailer from one side of the driveway to the other. I had
to move it for some house remodeling being done. They were frozen
solid and the rust on the rotors was pretty bad.

When was the last time you replaced the springs & actuators? How about
bleeding them clean? If there is any moisture at all *inside* the
hydraulic part of it, it will rust & get very sticky. I've found that they
need to be bled once a year and again if there is any drop in the
reservoir, for some reason (it seems to be common with friends trailers
too) they like to suck air if given half a chance.... and air always
brings in water too.

It's a 2000 boat and trailer and the trailer wasn't used for a year.
The pads look good, it just seems like the actuator stuck.

I'll take your advice when the weather breaks.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

Disk brakes. Kodiak is the preferred brand. I boat sal****er and tow
anywhere from 10-40 miles to launch. Over hills, etc. I am on the 2nd year
on the discs and they still look like new. Plus I tow over a 9000' pass to
Lake Tahoe. Go disc brakes.
Bill

"QLW" wrote in message
...
Unless you need to often trailer long distance , brakes are just not worth
the effort...(if you launch in salt water!) I've lived within spitting
distance of salt water for most of my life and rust is just a given. I
have four boat trailers and none of them have brakes. Would I like to
have
brakes? Do I need the brakes to travel really safely? Hell Yes! But
unless I'm willing to pull the wheels and drums every time after I launch
in
salt water, the brakes will be junk the next time that I use the trailer.
Been there...Done that! Same reason that I galvanize almost every trailer
that I build and plan to keep.
We are planning to do a lot of fresh water sailing for a few years now,
and
I'm going to add brakes to the trailer that we are going to tow. But when
we trailer to salt water I'll use a non-brake equipped trailer. I have a
friend whose 5 year old factory build galvanized trailer has springs and
brakes that are completey rusted out. My solution? Replace the springs
with single leaf mobile home springs instead of multi-leaf springs that
allow the salt water to be trapped between the leaves and ****-can the
brakes. Hey, most of the brakes on salt water trailers don't work
anyway...better to drive knowing that you don't have brakes than to think
that you do when you in fact...you don't!! Once the trailed weight gets
beyond 5000 lbs, then the rules change. You just have to have brakes and
completely cleaning and spraying them with an anti-rust after every launch
into salt water is the only choice.
Quinton

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in
message
...
On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 17:25:00 -0500, DSK wrote:

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

I have surge actuated mechanical brakes on my 20 foot Ranger's
trailer.

I have a similar size boat with surge brakes.

If there a way to clean the rotors and keep them from sticking over
winter? I have a hell of a time breaking them loose this morning
when
I moved the trailer from one side of the driveway to the other. I
had
to move it for some house remodeling being done. They were frozen
solid and the rust on the rotors was pretty bad.

When was the last time you replaced the springs & actuators? How about
bleeding them clean? If there is any moisture at all *inside* the
hydraulic part of it, it will rust & get very sticky. I've found that
they
need to be bled once a year and again if there is any drop in the
reservoir, for some reason (it seems to be common with friends trailers
too) they like to suck air if given half a chance.... and air always
brings in water too.

It's a 2000 boat and trailer and the trailer wasn't used for a year.
The pads look good, it just seems like the actuator stuck.

I'll take your advice when the weather breaks.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

Unless you need to often trailer long distance , brakes are just not worth
the effort...(if you launch in salt water!) I've lived within spitting
distance of salt water for most of my life and rust is just a given. I
have four boat trailers and none of them have brakes. Would I like to have
brakes? Do I need the brakes to travel really safely? Hell Yes! But
unless I'm willing to pull the wheels and drums every time after I launch in
salt water, the brakes will be junk the next time that I use the trailer.
Been there...Done that! Same reason that I galvanize almost every trailer
that I build and plan to keep.
We are planning to do a lot of fresh water sailing for a few years now, and
I'm going to add brakes to the trailer that we are going to tow. But when
we trailer to salt water I'll use a non-brake equipped trailer. I have a
friend whose 5 year old factory build galvanized trailer has springs and
brakes that are completey rusted out. My solution? Replace the springs
with single leaf mobile home springs instead of multi-leaf springs that
allow the salt water to be trapped between the leaves and ****-can the
brakes. Hey, most of the brakes on salt water trailers don't work
anyway...better to drive knowing that you don't have brakes than to think
that you do when you in fact...you don't!! Once the trailed weight gets
beyond 5000 lbs, then the rules change. You just have to have brakes and
completely cleaning and spraying them with an anti-rust after every launch
into salt water is the only choice.
Quinton

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 17:25:00 -0500, DSK wrote:

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

I have surge actuated mechanical brakes on my 20 foot Ranger's
trailer.

I have a similar size boat with surge brakes.

If there a way to clean the rotors and keep them from sticking over
winter? I have a hell of a time breaking them loose this morning when
I moved the trailer from one side of the driveway to the other. I had
to move it for some house remodeling being done. They were frozen
solid and the rust on the rotors was pretty bad.

When was the last time you replaced the springs & actuators? How about
bleeding them clean? If there is any moisture at all *inside* the
hydraulic part of it, it will rust & get very sticky. I've found that
they
need to be bled once a year and again if there is any drop in the
reservoir, for some reason (it seems to be common with friends trailers
too) they like to suck air if given half a chance.... and air always
brings in water too.

It's a 2000 boat and trailer and the trailer wasn't used for a year.
The pads look good, it just seems like the actuator stuck.

I'll take your advice when the weather breaks.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

Bill,

Agree. Other useful points for salt water trailer boating a

Aluminum trailer with all stainless fasteners.

Torque tube axle vs. leaf springs.

Galvanized or plastic trailer fenders.

Replace chains, cables, hooks, etc. periodically.

Flush and rinse the O/B and brakes/hubs ASAP after retrieving.

Wash trailer when you wash the boat.

Butch

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 00:12:41 -0800, "QLW" wrote:

Unless you need to often trailer long distance , brakes are just not worth
the effort...(if you launch in salt water!) I've lived within spitting
distance of salt water for most of my life and rust is just a given. I
have four boat trailers and none of them have brakes. Would I like to have
brakes? Do I need the brakes to travel really safely? Hell Yes! But
unless I'm willing to pull the wheels and drums every time after I launch in
salt water, the brakes will be junk the next time that I use the trailer.
Been there...Done that! Same reason that I galvanize almost every trailer
that I build and plan to keep.
We are planning to do a lot of fresh water sailing for a few years now, and
I'm going to add brakes to the trailer that we are going to tow. But when
we trailer to salt water I'll use a non-brake equipped trailer. I have a
friend whose 5 year old factory build galvanized trailer has springs and
brakes that are completey rusted out. My solution? Replace the springs
with single leaf mobile home springs instead of multi-leaf springs that
allow the salt water to be trapped between the leaves and ****-can the
brakes. Hey, most of the brakes on salt water trailers don't work
anyway...better to drive knowing that you don't have brakes than to think
that you do when you in fact...you don't!! Once the trailed weight gets
beyond 5000 lbs, then the rules change. You just have to have brakes and
completely cleaning and spraying them with an anti-rust after every launch
into salt water is the only choice.

I always drive as if I didn't have brakes on the trailer, but they
exist and I need to deal with them.

Interesting advice on the springs - I'll look into that.

Thanks.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 06:40:54 GMT, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

Disk brakes. Kodiak is the preferred brand. I boat sal****er and tow
anywhere from 10-40 miles to launch. Over hills, etc. I am on the 2nd year
on the discs and they still look like new. Plus I tow over a 9000' pass to
Lake Tahoe. Go disc brakes.

I have disc brakes.

I found the Kodiak web site, but I can't get a fix on the cost for a
set of rotors and calipers.

What did yours cost you?

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

QLW wrote:

Unless you need to often trailer long distance , brakes are just not worth
the effort...(if you launch in salt water!)

Malarkey. Any time the trailer exceeds a certain weight, trailer brakes are
*very* much worth having. In fact they are legally required in some cases.

I've lived within spitting
distance of salt water for most of my life and rust is just a given. I
have four boat trailers and none of them have brakes.

How heavy were they and what were you pulling them with?

Would I like to have
brakes? Do I need the brakes to travel really safely? Hell Yes! But
unless I'm willing to pull the wheels and drums every time after I launch in
salt water, the brakes will be junk the next time that I use the trailer.

Nonsense. I've had our trailerable cruiser for ten years now, used it between 3
and ten times a year in salt water, and only done brake maintenance once a year.

Either you've had really bad luck or else you're doing something wrong. None of
the trailering members of our sailing club have the kind of problems you
describe.

Regards
Doug King

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

QLW wrote:

Doug,
I own a welding shop about 500' off of Galveston Bay in San Leon, TX and I
see a lot of relatively new trailers pass through my shop because the brakes
and springs are rusted out.

Springs, sure. Mine (leaf springs) are getting close to needing replacement, but
they are ten years old. You all must have some serious bad-ass salt in the water
down there. I rinse mine off approx half the time we launch in salt water. We
also use it in fresh water a lot.

As for the brakes, even before I put on the SS parts (which in retrospect is a
waste of money IMHO), I only had to work on the brakes once a year. Planned
maintenance, in other words.


As a case in point, I just walked around our
little waterfront community and, with only one exception, all of the boat
trailers (7 of them) had rusted springs, some dangerously. My galvanized
sailboat trailer was the only one not rusted and that's because I built it
without springs for short hauls and with large 15" tires that I run at the
lowest recommended pressure to get some "spring" out of the sidewalls.

For short hauls, that's not a bad idea, but a ten year life isn't bad IMHO.


It's
interesting to note, however, that I've used this trailer to carry my 2800
lb. sailboat (probably 3300 lbs loaded) from San Leon to the Florida keys,
West Virginia, and just this past summer, to the Erie Canal in New York.
Getting rid of the springs lowers the boat 6" and makes a "float off / float
on" launch easy.

Another plus. Our boat has drop axle, plus it was designed to sit low on the
trailer from the start. Few boats are optimized (or even given any consideration
in the design phase).


I am going to add springs and brakes as we are going to be
pulling the trailer behind our motor home for months at a time now. But if
I were just driving a few miles to launch, I wouldn't bother.
BTW, I don't usually recommend spring-less trailers to customers because it
does take more care and common sense when driving on rough roads and common
sense is not always common... and I don't want an irate customer yelling at
me because he stupidly beat the hell out of his boat on rough roads.

LOL

Our trailer frame & fenders are galvanized, so rust isn't a problem there. I've
heard of people having problems with their trailer brakes, but most of their
stories seemed to me to indicate an unwillingness to dig with some basic
preventative maintenance. Maybe we've been lucky, but we've gone a long way
(covered most of the East Coast and inland lakes in most states east of the
Mississippi) on not really that much work & parts.

Another issue I've seen firsthand is trying to tow a too-heavy boat on an
undersized trailer that is not in good shape to begn with. But the answer to
most trailer problems is 'do your work on it *before* smoke testing, not after.'

Regards
Doug King

Speaking of trailer brakes...
 

I got mine from Century Wheel and Rim. http://www.polartank.com/
I think I paid $250 + $70 for the backup solenoid. Mine are the E-coated
calipers and rotors. They now supply a stainless unit. Not supposed to
warp like the Tiedown Engr sets.
Bill

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 06:40:54 GMT, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

Disk brakes. Kodiak is the preferred brand. I boat sal****er and tow
anywhere from 10-40 miles to launch. Over hills, etc. I am on the 2nd
year
on the discs and they still look like new. Plus I tow over a 9000' pass
to
Lake Tahoe. Go disc brakes.

I have disc brakes.

I found the Kodiak web site, but I can't get a fix on the cost for a
set of rotors and calipers.

What did yours cost you?

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)